Swindon Town boss Jody Morris has insisted his team will not change their tactical style despite getting nine points from a possible 27, since his arrival.
Coming off the back of a 4-4 thriller with bottom-of-the-league Rochdale, the Robins have been no short of goals as of late, however, have been poor at the back, particularly defending set pieces.
With just two clean sheets during Morris’ nine games in charge, Swindon’s promotion push is starting to fade away as they look eight points away from the playoff places, but do have a game in hand.
Swindon has had a shortage of defenders since the change of management, with injuries becoming the norm at the back. Ellis Iandolo, Reece Devine, Ciaran Brennan, Mathieu Baudry, Frazer Blake-Tracy and Joe Tomlinson are just a few of the names in defence who have been sidelined in recent months.
The surge of injuries has forced Morris to flip back and forward between a back four and back five defensive line, as he is still yet to find the perfect formation for his side.
Ahead of a big home game against Stockport County on the weekend and a need for three points, the Town will get a boost with both Black-Tracy and Tomlinson expected to be included in the squad.
With ten games remaining in the league, promotion isn’t out of the question just yet for Swindon, however, finding form down the stretch will be important for the Wiltshire side.
Morris is hoping that Robins’s performances as of late will eventually turn into wins and speaking ahead of Saturday’s game, believes a change in mentality is in order.
He said: “I always try and set up on the front foot anyway.
“I don’t like to do anything in a kind of: “let’s wait, let’s be solid and bunker down” kind of way. I’d rather be solid and on the front foot further up the pitch.
“As far as trying to create chances, I still firmly believe the best way of doing that is by playing the way I want us to play, not by getting it forward quickly.
“But I’d like to think that the way I want my team to play, I want us to be varied in how we attack.”
“The more games that go by, the less chance we have of making the playoffs. But if we play anything like we did at Rochdale, we don’t deserve to be anywhere near the playoffs anyway.
“I certainly think we have to approach the game with the mentality that we have to win it, but I’ve felt that way for every single game we’ve played.”
Writer’s View
Morris hasn’t been put in the best of situations since joining Swindon, but I do think it’s important to give him time and let him find the tactic that works.
With the injuries sustained in the last month, for all we know the current style of play could work once everybody is fit. Getting Ed Brand on board over the last couple of weeks should help to smoothen things out, but playoffs still might be a long stretch.
In an ideal world, it would have been nice for Morris to hit the floor running and advance to the playoffs. however, things sometimes take time. With uncertainty around every corner at the County Ground, things might take a bit longer than fans want, however a big win against Stockport on the weekend could be just the kick Swindon needed to finish the season strong.
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